Mumbai: HCL Technologies Ltd has entered into a joint venture with Celestica Inc, a Canada-based electronics manufacturing company, to provide complete concept-to-manufacturing (C2M) solutions to equipment manufacturers. Through this joint venture, the two companies will offer seamlessly integrated design, manufacturing and supply chain solutions.

The first of this kind in the electronics industry, the joint venture will provide a fully integrated product lifecycle solution to original equipment manufacturers (OEM), including product concept, design, engineering and manufacturing, fulfillment, sustaining engineering, reverse logistics and after-market services.

HCL will set up a design services centre in Chennai to address the electronics market space, HCL Technology president Vineet Nayar said, adding that the centre would employ about 200 people in the next six months. "From this joint venture we are expecting an incremental revenue of $100 million over the next five years," he said.

HCL hopes to combine its broad and scalable design engineering capabilities with Celestica''s existing strengths in hardware design for manufacturability and supply chain integration to create an exciting new alternative for OEMs seeking time-to-market and total cost advantages.

The two companies have a three-year relationship, through which HCL and Celestica have successfully provided integrated solutions to customers across the telecom, enterprise, consumer, medical, aerospace and semiconductor sectors.

"By recognising the increasing complexity of the marketplace, including rapidly changing customer demand, and the difficulties of managing multiple partners at different stages of the product lifecycle, a new market is being created through this joint venture. It removes a level of complexity, allowing OEM customers to focus on their core business and strategic initiatives," said Nayar.

The venture is aligned with HCL''s blue ocean strategy to create uncontested market spaces and create additional value for its customers, as well as Celestica''s strategic mandate to continually bring cost and time-to-market benefits to customers through its integrated global services and solutions.